Julio Frenk, president of the University of Miami, has been selected as the next chancellor of UCLA.
Credit: UCLA
Julio Frenk, the current president of the University of Miami and a public health researcher, will become the next chancellor of UCLA.
The University of California’s board of regents on Wednesday unanimously approved Frenk, who was born in Mexico and will become the first Latino chancellor to lead UCLA.
Frenk will earn an annual base salary of $978,904 and will start in the role Jan. 1.
“I am eager to take this role for several reasons,” Frenk said Wednesday, addressing the regents. “This is a crucial moment for higher education. We need bold innovation, and UCLA has a track record of embracing that kind of innovation.”
Frenk, 70, will succeed current Chancellor Gene Block, who plans to step down from the role July 31. Darnell Hunt, UCLA’s executive vice chancellor and provost, will serve as the interim chancellor until Frenk takes over.
Frenk’s appointment comes as UCLA reels from months of pro-Palestinian protests. Earlier this spring, Block was criticized for being unprepared after a mob of counter-demonstrators attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment on the campus. About two dozen pro-Palestinian protesters this week were arrested on the campus.
“At this moment, campus communities across the country are facing complex questions related to protecting student well-being, stopping all forms of discrimination and upholding free expression rights,” Frenk said Wednesday. “University leaders must take up these issues thoughtfully while continuing to advocate for the immense value that higher education generates.”
Frenk has led the University of Miami since 2015. During his time there, he was credited with orchestrating a $2.5 billion fundraising campaign and leading the university through the Covid-19 pandemic, among other accomplishments.
Frenk is the second high-profile education leader to leave the Miami area in recent years for Los Angeles. Alberto Carvalho, the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District since February 2022, had previously served as the superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
Prior to leading Miami, Frenk was dean of faculty at the public health school of Harvard University, the T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He was also previously the federal secretary of health in Mexico, where he was credited with reforming the nation’s health system.
“I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Frenk as the next chancellor of UCLA,” Richard Leib, chair of UC’s board of regents, said in a statement. “Dr. Frenk’s strategic and inspirational leadership, along with his extensive background in education and health, including his time as the Federal Secretary of Health of Mexico, uniquely positions him to guide UCLA into a future of impact and innovation.”
Frenk was born in Mexico City in 1953. His father, who was 6 years old at the time, fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s along with his parents and sister. Frenk’s father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all physicians.
Frenk earned his medical degree in 1979 from the National University of Mexico. He also received degrees from the University of Michigan, including a master’s in public health, a master’s in sociology and a joint doctorate in medical care organization and sociology.
The pool of candidates for UCLA’s next chancellor “was remarkable,” but Frenk stood out “for his unique combination of scholarly, medical, administrative and political expertise,” James Steintrager, the chair of UC’s academic senate, said in a statement. “How he straddles the worlds of university research and health care delivery makes him an excellent fit for UCLA.”
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